The NEW K-5 Science TEKS and Free, Editable Spreadsheets

I’m back again with more info on Texas teachers’ most beloved topic: the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). This time, we’ll look at some information on the new K-5 Science TEKS. How new are they? So new, they’ll be implemented next school year. You may have seen my posts about the K-5 ELAR TEKS (which contains information on how the TEKS are reviewed and revised) and the K-5 math TEKS. But today, we have long-awaited and highly anticipated editable spreadsheets with the new science TEKS and coordinating “I Can” statements for grades K-5. Who’s excited? Just me? Ok.

What Are the TEKS?

In short, the TEKS are the curricular standards adopted by the Texas State Board of Education. These standards outline what students should know and be able to do in each content area for each grade level. State-mandated tests are aligned with these standards to measure student achievement and skills acquisition.

About the Science TEKS

In 2021, the SBOE approved the new K-12 Science TEKS, which will be implemented in the 2024-2025 school year. Here are some top things to know (from the 2021 Science TEKS introduction) and a few notable differences between the 2017 Science TEKS and the updated 2021 TEKS:

1. Within the Science TEKS introductions for each grade level, there is a brief overview of the concepts covered. This is helpful for understanding the overarching science content covered in each grade and how prior knowledge is built upon year after year in vertical alignment.

2. Previously, the science standards focused on 1) scientific investigation and reasoning, 2) matter and energy, 3) force, motion, and energy, 4) earth and space, and 5) organisms and environments. However, these were not formally called “strands.” The new TEKS content officially has five “strands.” The only change is that 2017’s “scientific investigation and reasoning” was updated to “scientific and engineering practices” in 2021. Here are the current strands for the Science TEKS:

• Scientific and engineering practices.
• Matter and its properties.
• Force, motion, and energy.
• Earth and space.
• Organisms and environment.

3. The updated TEKS intro goes further to explain scientific inquiry and describe and define the three methods of investigation that should be employed:

• Descriptive: This has no hypothesis, answers a research question, and involves collecting and recording data without comparing.
• Correlative and comparative: These have a hypothesis, predict a relationship, involve collecting and recording data, comparing results, etc.
• Experimental: Similar to comparative, this involves testing a hypothesis by comparing “a treatment with a control.”

4. As part of the scientific and engineering practices, the new TEKS introduction defines scientific practices and engineering practices. Additionally, like the 2017 Science TEKS, there is a minimum percentage of instructional time recommended for each grade level to spend integrating scientific and engineering practices. The suggested percentages for each grade level did not change between the 2017 and 2021 Science TEKS.

5. The 2021 Science TEKS introduction kept the same definition of science from the National Academy of Sciences but expanded upon it. The new TEKS acknowledge that science is changing, stating that students should be aware that some phenomena aren’t currently able to be tested, so some questions may go unanswered.

6. Additionally, the new Science TEKS intro clearly defines scientific observations, inferences, hypotheses, and scientific theories, whereas the 2017 introduction did not.

7. Another new addition to the 2021 TEKS is the inclusion of a statement on “science and social ethics.” This statement basically says that science has ethics for conducting research. Students should know the difference between scientific ethics and broader ethics involving science.

8. Like the 2017 introduction, the 2021 TEKS includes a section on “recurring themes and concepts.” However, the 2021 version is more robust, further defining structure and function, systems, models, patterns, change, and constancy.

9. As in the 2017 version, within the standards, “such as” is used to illustrate examples, whereas “including” alludes to content that must be mastered.

Helpful TEKS Documents

• TEA TEKS Documents
• Information on the New Science TEKS
• TEKS Guide by TEA

Science TEKS Freebies from TCEA

Ok. That’s done! Now let’s get to the freebies. Click the links to make a copy of the editable TEKS spreadsheets for your grade level(s). Each spreadsheet has a tab with the TEKS and a tab with correlating “I can” statements. Is there something else TEKS-related that would be helpful? If so, let me know in the comments or send me an email (ehorn@tcea.org). I’d love to hear from you!

Additional STAAR and TEKS Articles You May Find Useful

• The K-5 Math TEKS and Free, Editable Spreadsheets
• The K-5 ELAR TEKS and Free, Editable Spreadsheets
• Reading Language Arts STAAR Test Resources
• STAAR Prep: A K-5 Argumentative/Opinion Writing Strategy
• STAAR Prep: Spelling Strategies, Resources, and Downloadable Posters
• A Practical Strategy for Teaching Editing Skills
• A Powerful and Easy Strategy for Teaching Text Evidence